DUNEDIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 10058, 27 July 1895, Page 3

DUNEDIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

•uuhedin, F.iday. The annual meeting of the Dunedln Chamber of Commerce was held this afternoon. Mr A. C. Begg, president, in moving the adoption of the report, referred exhaustively to tbe shrinkage In the value of the colony's imports and exports for the past year. These figures, he said, though not cheerful, were not unexpected, and represented not so much a falling off in the value of trade, aa a very serioas diminution in the Belling values of nearly all products and a corresponding shrinkage in the spending power of the people. Alluding to the frozen meat trade, he expressed himself as sure, if the trade was amalgamated nnder one management, with the Government guarantee for the money necessary to carry id oat, a company thua formed would speedily and surely oonie to giief. He looked with considerable apprehension on the attempts of firms already in tbe trade to secure a monopoly of the business, and said if these attempts were successful a fatal blow would be struck, not only at the Interest of growers, bnt at tbe general prosperity of the colony. Referring to the Advances to Settlers Act he said several of tbe statements recently made by (he Colonial Treasurer in London as to the finances of th 6 colony were so manifestly nntroe tbat they can only be da- - ecrlbed es "financial thimble-rigging," and must in the natural coarse of events bring tbe colony into disrepute and dis- ..' grace. He deprecated the pessimistic p views as to the future, saying although we had been passiog through troublous times we shall be none the worse for having learned lessons of adversity, and shall for tbe futare be more likely to avoid the causes which broneht so much trouble and disaster. Mr \V. Gow was elected president for the ensuing year.